Pac Bell Won't Change Name in 2003

Published 7:00 pm, Tuesday, February 4, 2003

The home stadium of the San Francisco Giants will keep the name Pacific Bell Park this season, even though Pacific Bell is now SBC Communications Inc.

San Antonio-based SBC has long been known in California as Pacific Bell, but changed its name in December.

"We did tell (SBC) we have tickets printed and everything else (for 2003), so they went along with that," Giants executive vice president Larry Baer said. "We have to figure out the next move."

SBC eventually would like to see the name on the park change.

"The Giants have been very understanding of the fact that we have evolved into a national company and transitioned to a single national brand," SBC spokesman John Britton said Wednesday. "We would like to see the name reflect our new brand and we're going to continue working with the Giants."

Pac Bell Park has seen Barry Bonds' 500th and 600th career home runs, and World Series games last year. Bonds also has hit most of the homers that have landed in McCovey Cove behind right field, where kayakers and boaters hang out waiting to catch balls hit out of the park.

A 10-ton fiberglass mitt overlooks the left-field bleachers, and the park has views of the Bay Bridge and Oakland hills. The 41,503-seat, privately financed park cost $357 million to build, with Pacific Bell paying $50 million for naming rights.

The Giants moved to Pac Bell from wind-swept Candlestick Park, where the NFL's San Francisco 49ers still play. The first game at Pac Bell Park was played in April 2000.